Chapter Twenty

     Candy couldn't remember when she had ever been this exhausted. 
She felt like she had been put through an old wringer washer, her body and
mind squashed out flat like some unfortunate cartoon character.  She hung
limply in Dolph's arms for what seemed like an eternity, her broken heart
spilling tears down her face until the front of his jumpsuit was drenched. 
When the torrent had finally subsided, Dolph gently lowered her to the bed
and handed her a handkerchief.  Candy blew her nose and dabbed at her
eyes, her mind working feverishly, trying to come up with some way to
make Dolph keep her here.  Looking down at the piece of cloth she held in
her hand brought a sudden idea.
     Star's eyes shone with more than tears when she suddenly lifted her
face to look into Dolph's eyes.  He hoped that she had accepted her fate. 
The expectant note in her voice dispelled that hope.
     "Dolph, how important are those flag things you guys lug around
with you?"
     Dolph's eyebrows arched in surprise at this seemingly left-field
question.  He knew Star was upset, but he didn't want to believe her mind
was slipping in her distress.  Still, she rarely made sense to him even when
she was making sense to herself, so he decided to humor her.
     "Very important.  The warrior who holds the flags commands the
ships."
     Star smiled cautiously.
     "Even if he got the flags in a less than honest manner?"
     She extended the word in a sly manner that piqued Dolph's
curiosity.  What was the little minx up to now?
     "Any warrior can challenge his commander to battle.  The victor
commands the ship.  Why?  What is this about, Star?"
     She raised her hands.
     "Just give me a minute, it'll make sense."
     Though he doubted that would ever happen, Dolph remained
patient.
     "You Vikings are greedy, right?  Never mind, plead the fifth, I
already know the answer.  What if I could offer you a bribe to let me stay
with you, something you would really like?"
     Dolph started to shake his head.
     "Star..."
     Star jumped to her feet, animation lighting the eyes that had so
recently lost their warm glow.
     "Hear me out, Dolph.  You don't want me getting killed on some
battlefield because I was tagging along with you 'cause I'm your woman. 
Right?"
     Dolph crossed his arms over his chest and gave a curt nod.  Candy
shook her head at his show of stubbornness and continued.
     "If you ask me, that's a kind-of dumb way to think.  If I get killed it'll
be because it's my time to die."
     He opened his mouth to defend his belief but she raised her voice to
avoid the interruption she had anticipated.
     "But, since you don't see it that way, we'll play by your rules for the
moment.  Just suppose that I had something to offer you in return for
another week in your illustrious presence.  Not as your woman, just as a
guest in your camp, an observer."
     Star's excitement showed as she warmed to her subject.
     "You wouldn't have to worry about me, I'd be on my best behavior. 
And I'd take care of Silky.  Kirk has a lot of other things to do, and Silky
needs a full-time babysitter."
     'Like someone else I know,' Dolph thought with a slight smile.
     "Come on, Dolph, one week, surely you could stand an
unacceptable woman," the hurt that comment had caused closed her throat
for the briefest of seconds, causing her to swallow hard before going on,
"for that long in order to profit big-time, right?"
     Dolph sighed.
     "Star, you have nothing to offer me.  Even if you did, what would
stop me taking it from you?"
     A triumphant grin lit her pretty lips as she placed her hands on her
hips.  Her tone was smug enough to make Dolph narrow his eyes.
     "Because you don't know where it is."
     Dolph wondered if he were merely stalling, avoiding the moment
when he would send her away, even as he continued to pursue this elusive
prey.
     "Very well.  For the moment, let us say that you know the
whereabouts of something that I would like very much to get my hands on,
and you would trade this knowledge for another week with me.  Why?  At
the end of the week, the result would be the same.  I would return you to
Earth."
     Star's eyelids lowered seductively as she reached up and stroked his
neck, trailing her fingers through the exposed hair on his chest.  Dolph felt
his loins begin to tighten in response to the promise held in that touch.  The
silken caress of her voice heated his blood even further.
     "I intend to make it absolutely impossible for you to let me go.  To
prove to you that no other woman will ever do it for you like I can.  Do we
have a deal?"
     Dolph's voice lowered to match hers as other parts of him raised in
response to her closeness.
     "That depends.  What do you offer?"
     Candy stretched up onto her toes and pressed her lips to his.  She
ran her tongue lightly over his lips, feeling quite pleased with herself when
he shivered slightly.  Her self-congratulations were short-lived however.  He
pushed her back so that he could look down at her.  
     "What do you offer," his voice took on an edge of steel, "that I
cannot take?"
     Between his arrogant tone and the implication behind the question,
Candy had to fight the urge to slap his face.  She stepped away from him
and narrowed her eyes.  So much for seduction.  Right now, greed was the
way to this man's heart.  Fine, if she could pull this off, she could work on
seduction later.  For now, she would be all business.
     "What happened to your battle with Vierig's men?"
     Once again, Star's train of thought escaped him.  Dolph sighed,
thinking he would need more than one lifetime to understand the workings
of her mind.
     "I left Felix in charge.  Vierig's men will follow his second-in-
command.  As soon as we finish here, I will return, resume command and
finish it."
     "Does this second-in-command get Vierig's flags, a.k.a. his ships? 
Is that why Vierig's men will follow him?"
     Dolph gave a sharp nod, his brow furrowing with curiosity.
     "That's right."
     Candy took a deep breath, zeroing in for the kill.
     "What if he couldn't?  What if you had the flags?  Wouldn't that end
the fight?"
     Dolph allowed his eyes to momentarily lower to the ground as
comprehension dawned.  He knew what his lady was up to.  And he knew
how to send her away hating him.  That was the only way to keep her from
suffering the pain of their separation, to make her glad that he had returned
her to Earth and left her there alone.  With a determined mind, and a heavy
heart, he lifted his eyes to once again meet her hopeful countenance.
     "If no challenge were issued, I would assume command of his
warriors without further bloodshed."
     Dolph kept to the basics, figuring a more detailed answer would
keep him tied up in her questions till the stars burned out.
     Raising her finger toward the ceiling, she said with a flourish, "that
is what I'm offering - Vierig's flags!"
     Now that he had decided on a course of action, Dolph could play
the game as a Viking warrior.  He arched one eyebrow, his tone sly.
     "And where might these flags be?"
     Candy shook her head.
     "Oh, no, you don't.  Do we have a deal?"
     "A week?"
     She bobbed her head, her countenance growing steadily happier. 
Dolph had never felt less of a man than he did at this moment, but his
expression showed nothing.  He sighed exaggeratedly.
     "If you would cause me no difficulty, do as I say and stay out of my
way, I could endure another week."
     He extended his hand, palm up.  With his imperiously cocked
eyebrow, he demanded his due.
     Candy grimaced, wondering why she felt as though she were not
getting the good end of this deal.  Her eyes dropped to Dolph's feet and
slowly lifted, drinking in every inch of him.  The tight crotch of his jumpsuit
revealed that her seduction hadn't gone unnoticed.  Or, she thought with an
inner growl, was it the prospect of adding Vierig's ships to his roster that
caused him to strain the material?  His massive chest, covered in blonde fur,
expanded with a deep breath in response to her perusal.  Broad shoulders
that looked like they could easily hold the weight of the world sculpted up
to the heavily corded neck, shadowed by long golden hair, that held his
head at a proud, arrogant slant.  His soft-peach lips were pulled thin with
determination.  And his eyes, those beautiful dark green pools, glowed with
an inner fire, daring her to refuse him.  Looking into those eyes, Candy
smiled.  No deal in history had ever been so sweet.  She extended her hand
to Dolph.
     "It's a deal."
     His mouth raised in a smile that did not reach his eyes.  He took her
hand in his, his palm warm against her skin.  After one firm shake, he
dropped her hand and placed his own on his hips.  His patience was
obviously reaching its end.
     "Where are the flags?"
     "In the pocket of the jumpsuit I was wearing in Vierig's camp." 
     Dolph stepped to his chest of drawers and pressed a small
indentation on the front panel.  A drawer slid silently into the room.  He
retrieved Star's tattered jumpsuit and held it out to her.  She looked at the
drawer, surprise clearly evident in her slack-jawed expression.  Dolph
grinned.
     "Oh, did I forget to show you how to open your drawer?"
     The glare that Dolph actually found rather endearing slitted her eyes
and compressed her mouth.  She snatched the suit from his hand.
     "I guess you forgot that little bit of information."
     Noting the wretched condition of the garment, Candy raised a
questioning brow.
     "Why'd you keep this thing?  It's seen better days."
     "I thought you might be nostalgic." 
     Dolph shrugged, not wishing to examine his reasons too closely in
the fear that he would find himself the sentimental fool.
     Candy looked at the rend that Vierig's sword had made in the
material.  'Not to mention my back,' she thought with a grimace.  In
response to Dolph's supposition that she might be nostalgic she mumbled,
"not bloody likely."  Reaching into the pocket, she pulled out a bundle of
crushed cloth.  With a look of rebellious triumph, she handed it to Dolph. 
He recognized the material as that used in the flags of Viking ships.  After
what had happened the last time, he couldn't help but wonder why she
would ever touch another flag.
     "What are you doing with these?"
     "Like another arrogant Viking I know, Vierig assumed that I would
be too frightened of him to dare touch anything.  So, when he left me alone
in his tent, I immediately checked out his warchest for weapons, of course."
     "Of course,"  Dolph mumbled under his breath.  The crinkling of
her nose told him she'd heard.
     "I took those because I wanted to dunk them in mud or something
but I was too busy planning my escape.  I figured I'd do it when I got a
minute.  When you showed up, things got a little hectic and I forgot all
about them."
      Candy pushed the drawer shut, then pressed the magic button and
smiled like a happy child as the drawer did its automatic thing.  She laid her
folded jumpsuit inside, then pushed the drawer closed with a satisfied grin.
     Dolph laid the flags out on the bed, running his hand over them in
an effort to remove some of the wrinkles.  He sighed and frowned, a look
that didn't concern her in the least because by now she knew his real frowns
and this wasn't one of them.  This was one of those man expressions that
meant he really thought she was cute, but knew he should be mad so he was
frowning.  He gathered the flags together, then, directing another glare in
Star's direction, folded them and pushed them into his pocket.  She
shrugged.
     "Well I couldn't exactly bring along their carrying case, you know. 
Besides, they belonged to Vierig, and he was not on my 'A' list.  I didn't
really care if they got so wrinkled they looked like raisins.  So, are we going
back to the battle now?"
     For one weak moment, Dolph considered changing his mind,
keeping her and letting the fates fall as they may.  One quick flash of
memory, blood-stained silver strands, chased that thought from his mind. 
He knew he must play this to the hilt, even if it tore his soul from his body. 
Straightening, he raised his chin, his attitude and tone that of the triumphant
warrior.
     "I am returning to the battle."
     He wrapped his hand in a grip of steel around her upper arm, nearly
lifting her off the floor as he propelled her toward the door.  She was too
stunned to even stand her ground.  They were out the door before she
protested.
     "Hey, where are we going?  And do you mind if I arrive with my
arm intact?"
     Dolph lessened the pressure on her arm the slightest bit.  She was
trying to plant her feet, but against his persistence it was like an ant trying to
stop a tiger.  He almost smiled as he realized that her feet were sliding along
the corridor.
     Candy didn't understand what was going on.  One minute they were
making a deal, the next she was shoe-skating down the hall.  Had she
missed something?  She wasn't sure whether to panic or get mad.
     "Excuse me.  Would you mind cutting the 'silent tough-guy' routine
long enough to tell me what's going on?"
     Dolph stopped and released her so suddenly that she almost fell
down.  She felt she recovered well, though, placing her palm against the
wall to steady herself.  She glared up into his face, indignant.
     "Thank you very much!"
     Dolph crossed his arms over his chest.
     "I have wasted enough time with you, woman.  You are a nuisance
that I am about to be rid of."
     Candy felt the fear returning full-force.
     "Wait a minute.  We had a deal!"
     Dolph's lips spread in a predatory smile she had never seen before. 
His voice was a low, angry hiss.
     "You little fool!  Vikings don't make deals with women.  We take
whatever we want, by fair means or foul, it doesn't matter.  Women are the
most double-dealing creatures in the universe!  You are to be used when the
need arises, then cast aside if you become too troublesome."
     He grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her onto her toes to bring
her face closer to his.
     "You are too troublesome by half!  Your performance in bed is
passably pleasant, but I can easily find another to replace you.  One who
will be a proper woman."
     He pushed her away from his body, insuring that she hit the wall
with just enough force to let her know he was serious.  The pain in her tear-
shimmered eyes brought an answering agony from somewhere deep inside
him the likes of which he had never felt.  Her soft, emotion-choked whisper
held all that she was feeling: confusion, shock, fear and, most of all, pain.
     "But I love you, Dolph.  Please!"
     The great Viking warrior clenched his jaw, an outer reflection of the
tightening of his inner control.  If he didn't get her out of his sight soon, he
knew he would never be able to let her go.  He took her arm again, more
gently this time, and turned her toward the transporter room.  She offered
no resistance.  She walked as if in a daze, staring straight ahead as they
entered the room and he placed her in position to return to her home.  As
he started to step away from her, she grabbed the sleeve of his jumpsuit. 
He had to strain to hear her whispered question.
     "Will you ever come back?"
     Dolph marveled at her indomitable spirit and optimism.  Even after
all the horrible things he had said to her, her voice was still woven with a
tiny thread of hope.  As he pried her fingers from the cloth, he did his best
to tell her he was through with her.
     "No, Candy, I will not."
     Hearing her given name from his lips, she flinched as if he had
struck her.  Taking a deep breath, she straightened, her eyes clearing and
regaining their focus.  Her voice was a little stronger, as she tried
desperately to regain her dignity.
     "Fine.  I won't bother putting you on my Christmas card list then.  It
was great playing Star Trek with you, Randolph.  Give everyone my best
wishes."
     Her eyes suddenly flared with sapphire flames, and her voice rose
several decibels.
     "You lying, treacherous son-of-a-bitch!  I hope you die in some
horrible dark place with just your warrior's pride for company!  And I hope
your sword is so far away you can't get to it.  You're gonna miss me,
Dolph!"
     Tears streamed down her face, but she just brushed them away with
a quick move of her hand.  The strain of holding back sobs showed in every
line, every move of her face and body.  She glared at Dolph when he gave
the order to drop her.  As the light-headedness of the drop began, he could
see her control break, and he knew that she would enter her world sobbing
her heart out from the pain he had caused her.
     Dolph was only vaguely aware of the transporter shutting down and
Olaf leaving the room.  Star's tear-streaked face remained in his vision long
after she was gone.  As his own tears finally escaped his hold, he reached
out to the specter in his mind and moaned as it disappeared.  His hand fell
limply to his side.  Dropping his head back, he closed his eyes, his whisper
for his ears only.
     "Goodby, Star.  My lady.  My love."